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Correct design specification and the correct use of modern fire retardant treatments can help to ensure that wood is a long lasting and safe choice of materials. Wood is arguably our most versatile, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally advanced construction product. However, in common with the Building Regulatory Authorities and insurance company loss adjusters, Specifiers may have a concern about wood’s behaviour in a fire; after all wood has served as a fuel throughout the history of mankind. |
Despite this, wood in itself has excellent properties that help it perform well in a fire situation over alternative building materials. It has a steady charring rate, low heat conduction and does not distort at high temperatures. Fire fighters prefer to enter a burning building made out of timber, because they have learned to estimate how long they can safely remain in the structure. In a fire, wood carbonises from the outside in, leaving a core of structurally strong timber. That is why it is predictable – unlike masonry, which cracks and spalls or steel, which buckles and twists.
Furthermore, the pressure treatment of timber with industrially applied fire retardant formulations delays and can even prevent ignition and spread of flame and reduces the rate of heat release. These factors help maintain the integrity of structures, enabling both compliance to Building Regulations in terms of escape and safety of life and restricting damage to the building fabric itself, to avoid huge insurance losses.
To read the full article by Arch Timber Protection, click here.
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